


Broken Escalators

by Gallifrey_Immigrant



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Amy pond - Freeform, Body Horror, Gen, Horror, doctor and amy will be friends no matter what, fifth doctor/amy pond - Freeform, lost in a mall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-24 15:56:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 12,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3774652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gallifrey_Immigrant/pseuds/Gallifrey_Immigrant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a red-haired Scot ends up trapped in a mall that won't let anyone go, she meets an old friend-who hasn't met her yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I'm afraid that the Russians are gonna kill us one day. My aunt tells me that she heard the Russians are sending spies to scope out good spots for bombing,” my friend Anna says. She looks over at me when I don't reply.

“Maybe,” I say, shrugging. “Who knows what will happen?”

She frowns at that, the way she always does when I slip and don't respond to current events the way everybody else does. “I love ya, Amy, but sometimes you're weird.”

“No weirder than you after you've got a few drinks in you!” I tease, hoping she won't press the issue further.

“Don't blame me just because I can't handle liquor like you!” she said, laughing.“Plus, your husband Rory's a lightweight. Man took two drinks, damn near fell off his chair. Speaking of him, isn't he supposed to be bringin' your kids over?”

Almost on cue, a car came onto my block. Tucking a strand of red hair out of my face, I went to place a kiss on the driver.“Hello love.”

“Hello back, lady” said Rory Pond. On the edge of my vision, I could see Anna making gagging motions along with the other two people in the car. 

“And who would you be?” I said in a mock-inquisitive voice to those two people.

“Mom! We saw so much cool stuff on our trip!”said Brian. 

“Yeah, it was awesome! First, we went to--,” said Vincent. 

“No fair! I want to tell Mom!” said Brian.

“Calm down, kiddos! You'll both get to tell Mom! But not now, because Mommy has to go take the car to the store,” I said.

“But mom--!” they both started.

“Shush!” I said with a smile, putting a finger to the lips.“I love you, and see you later.” The kids (reluctantly) walked off. 

Shaking my head, I looked up. The stars seemed so far away.

“You okay?”said Rory. Even with lines on his face, he was still just as beautiful as the day we met.

“Yeah, I'm good,” I said. I meant it, too.

“I still think about him, too,” he said. 

“You know...I kinda don't,” I said. He raised his eyebrows in obvious skepticism. “I mean, he'll always be in my memory, but...it's like, I moved on. I actually forget what I used to call him.”

He was silent for a moment. I would have thought he hadn't heard me, but I knew him too well for that. “Yeah. We've moved on. I was just checking on you. “ He smiled, and kissed me softly. “Be safe.”

“I outlived Daleks and Weeping Angels. What's the worst that could happen?” I said.

As I got in the car, Anna walked to me to say goodbye.“Their grandfather would have been proud,”she said, referring to my kids.

“He will be,” I said wistfully.

“Huh?”she said.

“Nothing,” I waved it away.

 

A few hours later, I was in the Fax shopping mall. It didn't have everything, but it had enough. I sat in the bottom floor, and checked my shopping list, filled with what we could buy on my author's income. I wouldn't be able to buy everything I wanted, but I could buy enough. I was about to start shopping when something weird happened.

All the lights shut down.

Then I heard shouts. I couldn't see anything, but it seemed like the escalators shut down, and people were tripping over themselves. I could deal with the dark (I've dealt with worse) , but everyone else lost their minds. People were bustling past each other in confusion.

“This is what happens in these new malls!”said a woman in a fur coat. “They never maintain 'em right.”

“AHHH!” said a voice. 

I turned to see someone screaming and pointing at one of the doors.“What happened?”

“The door burnt my hand!” he said. I looked at his hand, and it was indeed burned.

Suddenly, a locking sound rang across the mall.

We were locked in, with doors that wouldn't let us out.

That's when I realized this would be a long day.

Pandemonium soon rung out. People were screaming and running. Dodging out of the way, I tripped over someone. Judging from his clothes, he was apparently a homeless man. I said sorry, but he barely seemed to acknowledge me with his green-gunked covered eyes.

“Everyone, CALM DOWN!” said a male voice with a speaker phone.

“And who the hell are you?” said the man with the burnt hand (apparently a lawyer).

“I'm the Doctor.”

My heart skipped a beat, even though I always said I'd stay calm if I heard those words again. I turned around. Totally different coat; no bow tie; and I think celery is even worse than a fez. But it was him. I could tell it was him. And words I thought I forgot—words I tried to forget—came from my lips:

“My Raggedy Man.”

He replied, “Er...who?”

That's when I realized this would be a really long day.


	2. Chapter 2

“It's me, Amy Pond!” I said. Had he forgotten me? The thought bothered me more than I would have liked.

He blinked at me with wide eyes. “I'm so sorry, but I've never met you before. Or maybe we met and I forgot you. In which case I apologize. I do tend to forget people, despite my best intentions. Curse of the constant traveler, I suppose....” 

Dammit, did I have the wrong guy? There couldn't more than one man called Doctor in the world, right? “Okay, does any of this jig a memory: River Song, Girl who waited, Rory the Centurion, bowties are cool, TARDIS, sonic screwdriver, fish fingers in custard, Daleks,” I said, looking in his eyes for any sign of recognition.

His face took on a mixture of confusion and shock, and a little bit of fear. “I've heard a few river hymns, and met quite a few centurions, but none named Rory. I'm not sure if I'd call bowties 'cool' , but I've got nothing against them. Also, who eats fish fingers with custard?” he said with a look of extremely disgust, and I was almost convinced right then and there that he wasn't the Doctor, but then he continued, “but the TARDIS...yes, I definitely know that. And some days I wish I didn't know who the Daleks are.” Suddenly, he snapped his eyes on mine with a look of irritation. “Hang on. Are you part of that LINDA group? Because I keep on telling them I'm not going to star in one of their 'fan' films, or wear--.”

“I'm not a part of Lindy, or whatever,” I said quickly. 

He looked extremely relieved. “Oh, good. I was worried for a second. Amy Pond, that's you said your name was? Happy to meet--!”

“Give me your flashlight, doll, ” shouted someone from behind me. Turning around, I saw that it was the lawyer, talking to a young woman wearing a dress with a flower design. “I'm injured, and I need the light more than you do.”

“Oh, please,” said the woman. “It's just your hand, you'll live. And my name's Kathleen Morris, not 'doll'.”

“Listen, I have an appointment in two hours. If I don't get there in time, I will literally end up paying for it. So, Kathleen, maybe you could just do us both a favor and give me the flashlight, so I can get us both out of here.”

I had enough of this. I got in front of him “She's just nervous. Just like you are. The only difference is that you're being a total ass about it. So, why don't you just sit in the corner and do whatever lawyers do ,while the grown-ups figure out a solution. “

His face got red, and he began to wince. At first, I thought maybe I had really hurt his ego, but then I realized he was wincing due to the burn. The burn, which had been just a light burn before, almost looked like it was getting worse. I could have sworn the skin wasn't that dark before, and I thought my nose perceived a slight charcoal scent.

Panting oddly, he looked up at me and said “I'm a doctor, not a lawyer, genius. So you can take your smart mouth and--”

“Oh, you're a doctor! So am I!” said the Doctor. “It's so rare I get to meet a man of my profession! What's your name?” 

“You're the man with the speakerphone,” said the doctor (I swear he looked more like a lawyer),. He looked the Doctor up and down with an unimpressed expression. “Never seen a doctor wear clothes like that before. And my name's Simon Wener. What's your name—damn, this pain is killing me!” said Simon as began to lose balance. 

“Just the Doctor,” the Doctor said, helping the man up to his feet. “Looks like you could use a hand.” (The inward groan I felt was oddly familiar.)

Despite Simon's pain, his expression showed the Doctor's pun didn't escape him. Glaring at the Doctor, he said, “Thanks for helping me up, but I don't have time for jokes. I'll find a first aid kit myself; we're in a mall, so it can't be too hard. Then we find a way out.” With that, Simon limped away from us, going up the escalators. 

“Do you know what's going on?” I asked the Doctor. 

“No idea. Hmm...Simon said he was burned from the door, right?” He walked through the aisles, dodging a fallen item here and there, until he got to the door . Then he reached for the door.

“Be careful!” I hissed. 

“Oh, never be too careful. Or you'll never experience life fully,” he said, grinning. I rolled my eyes. Changing my position to get a better look at what he was doing, I saw that he was holding his hand in front of the door handle, but not touching it.

After a few moments, he put his hand away. “That's what I thought,” the Doctor said. 

“Have you figured it out?” I asked. 

“No. Amy, would you please place your hand near the door for a moment?” he asked. Sensing my hesitation, he assured “I'll make sure you don't touch the door.”

I decided to nod yes to his request. Taking my hand in his, he guided my hand in front of the door, making sure skin didn't touch metal. “Do you notice anything strange?” he asked.

After calming my fears of my palm getting burnt, I concentrated on what my hand felt. All I could feel was the Doctor's warm palm, the cold air...wait.

“There's no heat coming from the door,” I said.

“Exactly. Simon says he was burnt, and from my quick look at his hand when I helped him up, he's showing all the signs of a second degree burn, but there's no heat coming from the door.”

I was about to say that I thought the burn wasn't that bad, when I realized something else felt wrong. “The month is July. And the air conditioning can't be on since the electricity seems to have shut down. Yet the air's cool, almost like we're in fall. That's definitely not normal New York summer weather.” 

The Doctor tapped his chin, pondering what I said. “You know, I only came here because there was a sale on cricket bats. Even when I try to have a vacation, trouble finds me,” he sighed.

I did a one-handed shrug. “That's the life we lead, Doctor. Or, at least, the life I used to lead. Also, may I have my hand back now?”

An embarrassed Doctor stopped using my hand to tap his chin. Smirking at him, I said “I didn't know you liked me that way. But, sorry, I'm married. “

“Er, well...anyway, we should check on everyone else. Maybe we can get some clues about this predicament if we ask around. I'm especially interested in that doctor's burn. Let's go see what Simon says,” said the Doctor.

Walking back to the entrance, where everyone else was, I noticed the hobo from earlier. His eyes still looked extremely gunky, and there seemed to be ketchup on his beard. but he looked more lively. I waved at him.

He waved back, with a black-toothed grin crawling onto his face. 

“You know,” said the Doctor as we were walking, “there is something else weird about that door.”

“Odd temperatures and mystery burns isn't enough?” I said.

“Well, isn't it odd we haven't been rescued?” the Doctor said. “Think about it. A whole mall locks up, with people inside, and no one says anything? No one has tried to break us out, or communicate with us, as far as I know.”

“Well, we don't have cellphones yet. They can't just text us,” I said. Rory was probably pacing the floor now, debating with himself on whether he should be worried that I hadn't come home yet.

He gave me an odd look, and I remembered that he still didn't know I wasn't from this time period. “...Right. Amy, something tells me you're not from around here.”

“Any other weird stuff?” I said, trying to get him to change the subject.

“Yes. At the door, there were no outside sounds. No cars, or anything. In fact, it's oddly silent.”

“Doesn't sound like New York at all,. I can barely get any sleep sometimes with all the noise,” I said.

“Because maybe we're not in New York anymore,” he said. 

I stopped walking. “Wait, how is that possible?”

Before he could answer, an Indian man, who I recognized as my neighbor Sanjay, rushed up to us “Doctor! You're a doctor, right?” 

The Doctor nodded. “What's wrong?”

“A man named Simon needs medical attention,” he said. “Something's very wrong with him.”

“Calm down, Sanjay. Is his burn infected or something?” I asked. 

He just shook his head and said, “You have to see for yourselves.” 

Sanjay took us up the escalator and into one of the mattress stores. Ahead of us were a group of fellow mall prisoners. I noted Kathleen in the side of my eye, standing away from the group, but still observing.

The Doctor quickly walked to the group. “Alright, step aside, the Doctor will see you now,” he said. When I caught up to him, though, there was no trace of a joke on his face. His face looked bewildered. Confused, I turned to see what made him so serious.

And I nearly threw up.

Simon was sprawled on one of the beds in the mall. The burn that had been on his hand, was now clearly a third degree burn. His skin was black and red and sickly yellow, and you could literally smell (and see) the burnt flesh. And it wasn't just on his hands, but also up his shoulder, and a quarter across his upper chest. Thankfully, he still seemed to be alive...though considering how painful his condition looked, he probably wasn't that grateful. Then I looked closer at the burn.

It was growing, crawling up his body before our eyes.


	3. Interlude 1

Ciara's Super Awesome Journal

OK. Keep calm. You're a big girl. Well, actually, you're only 7. But that's no reason to whine about how you got locked in a mall. I knew this was a bad place to sleep!

Hmm. That redhead girl with the accent is tall. I've seen her around before. I think she writes books. 

That guy with the white coat is cute. He looks so funny with that microphone. The author girl and he are talking...do they know each other? He doesn't seem to think so.

Spying on people from the top floor of mall—always fun!

That guy in the rags (Note: maybe hobo) (2nd note: Marie always says not nice to call people hobos) (3rd note: who cares what Marie thinks—her parents are so rich she's probably never seen a hobo in life) is weird. 

He's looking in my direction. Na na na na, you can't even see me!

Right? 

Too upset by hobo. Gotta move to more secure place.

Good thing I moved. That guy with the burnt hand came up. He looks messed-up. Doesn't see me. He's walking to some plants. Oh, he's taking out a...knife!

Why cut the beautiful plants?

The plants are leaking out some weird blue stuff. He's drinking it? I'd rather have orange juice.

He's looking even more ill. The burn's gotten worse. 

OK, he's gone. 

I gotta go use the bathroom. Be right back, super awesome journal.

I'm back. The cute guy in the white coat is talking to the man with the burnt face. The burn's covered all of his...that's SO GROSS! Gotta look at something else. Hope cute guy knows not to touch the burnt spots.

Redhead author girl is talking to Kathleen. Probably about boring adult stuff.

Hobo guy is looking around. He's smiling.

You know, I like the cute guy. I hope this group lasts longer than the last one did.


	4. Chapter 4

The pungent stench rising off Simon was what finally woke me from my silence. 

“Doctor, what the hell is going on?” I said. I looked at his face for a response.

The Doctor was silently studying Simon, with his knees bent to the floor and his face up close to Simon's skin. Finally, he said softly “Simon.”

The man stirred. 

“Yes, Doctor?” he croaked with a voice that was unrecognizably hoarse.

Before the Doctor could reply, he continued “Am I dying?”

The Doctor took a deep breath. “Not if I can help it. I need to ask you a few questions. First, can you breathe easily? ”

Simon replied “If I can talk, then obviously I can breathe. Don't ask me a stupid question. I thought you were a doctor.” Apparently even being near-death didn't stop him from being obnoxious.

“Actually, that fact's not necessarily true. But, since you can breathe and talk means that whatever is affecting you hasn't gotten to your internals yet. That's very good. Now, can you remember anything unusual happening between the time you went to get first aid, and now? Even seemingly unimportant details might be relevant right now,” said the Doctor. 

Simon was silent for a moment. Then he whispered “D'you know it's hard to find medicine around here? I searched around. Couldn't find a thing. Finally, I saw some Vikodis plants. They're really good for helping relieve pain. So I cut some, and drank the liquid. Felt better at first. Then the pain got worse. And worse.” Simon coughed, and some of the burnt skin seemed to crack from the movement. 

“May I rest now?” he asked.

“Yes,” said the Doctor. Simon closed his eyes, his chest moving up and down. The Doctor straightened up and walked away from the rest of the group.

“Is he okay?” I asked. It was a stupid question, but I couldn't think of anything better.

“I need to you to do something for me,” the Doctor said. “Ask around about this place. See if you can find out any information. Someone may have some sort of clue to what's going on.”

“It would be great if someone had a clue. There's a whole bunch of weird stuff happening, and I have a feeling it's connected,” I said. I realized too late I had unconsciously clasped my hand together the way my Doctor would've. Looking at the Doctor before me, I noticed he was holding his hands behind him the same way.

The Doctor scratched his head and replied “Exactly, that's what I was going to say...I've never met you, but if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were copying me.”

Indignant, I glared at him and said “Copying! If anything...by the way, you've sent me on an errand, but what are you going to do?” 

The Doctor looked in Simon's direction and said “ First I'm going to take a closer look at Simon's skin. I need to take a tissue sample and analyze it.” His face took on a look of disappointment, and he continued, “If only my TARDIS was nearby. I'll have to make due with tools from around here. The 1980s: Wonderful for dance clubs, but not the best for medical...Macgyvering, I think the local Earth term is? Also, Amy, have you ever heard of Vicodis plants?”

“No,” I said, ready for the impending explanation.

“Neither have I, ” said the Doctor. Then he walked off to tend to Simon.

I shook my head. I had often wondered whether the Spaceman's desire to get himself in trouble headfirst without thinking twice, or once, or at any point, was just his version of a mid-life crisis—complete with a fast ride and a young leggy woman . But it appeared he had always been this way. Rory would have laughed.

Was Rory okay? I hoped so. At least he wasn't involved with all this craziness. 

Walking down the steps, I looked around downstairs. I counted 3 people—Sanjay, Kathleen, and an old woman whose name I didn't know yet. Checking for anyone else around, I looked up and saw a little girl with a note book looking at me.

“Hey, kiddo!” I said. “What's your name?”

“Who are you talking to?” Sanjay asked. Eyebrows raised, he stuffed his hands into his pocket which I knew was a nervous tic of his. 

“The girl up there,” I said. Of course she was gone, and now I looked like a crazy person. “I know I saw someone up there.”

“So much of this situation is completely screwed up--we probably are gonna start seeing things,” said Sanjay. He looked upstairs, and continued “You know that Doctor fellow?”

“In a way,” I said in a tone that made it clear I wasn't going to elaborate.

Sanjay shrugged. “Well, he seems kinda odd. As long as you trust him, though...I guess it's okay,” he continued, still fidgeting with his pockets. 

I placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Don't worry; we'll get out of here safely.” (A part of me realized I had no way of guaranteeing that.)

Hearing steps behind me, I turned to see the old woman behind me. “Hello, ” I said “ I'm Amy Pond. You would be?”

Tucking long black hair out of her face, the old woman extended her hand. “Hello, my name is Cassie Jackson,” she said as she smiled and shook my hand. She then patted down her yellow dress, and whispered “I saw that little girl too. She seems to be a shy little thing. And that tall woman in the black dress,” she continued while discreetly looking at Kathleen, “appears to be hiding something. I was looking throughout the store for a while before it locked us in, and I don't even remember seeing that woman come in. I tried to spark up a conversation, but she wouldn't even chat.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I'll see what's up.”

I walked beside Kathleen. She was smoking a cigarette, and staring at a music store with vinyl recordings in the window. I got the impression she was thinking about something serious.

“So, er, how are you dealing with all this?” I asked.

Without taking her eyes off the display, she said “You speak differently from everyone else.”

“Last time I checked, I was speaking English,” I said. 

“It's not the words. But the way you say things, the way you use phrases, it's different from everyone else around here” she said. Then she turned to look at me, putting out the cigarette on the glass. I felt like her green eyes were piercing into me. “If you're here to question me, there's nothing for me to give you. I'm as clueless as you are,” she said, with an edge of defensiveness.

I put my hands up. “I'm not here to uncover anything about you. I just want to see if you're okay, and see if you know anything about what's going on,” I replied.

She stared at me for a few seconds. Then her face formed into a wide grin, and she said “Relax. And thank you for helping me when that doctor—Simon, I think it was- was bothering me.”

“We're all on pins and needles here. But that's no excuse to be a jerk to you. Seriously, though, is everything okay? You seem a little preoccupied. Are you worried about people back home ?” I asked.

Kathleen grimaced at the mention of family. “Haven't worried about family in a long time. It's...complicated. You got any family?”

“Yep. My husband Rory, and my 2 little darlings Brian and Vincent,” I said. “They're probably worried sick by now.”

Kathleen looked almost apologetically at me. “It's nice to be missed.”

An uncomfortable pause hung in the air. Then Kathleen said quietly “Make sure that blonde doctor doesn't touch Simon's burnt skin.”

“Why?” I said. Before Kathleen could answer, Sanjay came up behind me, panting and clearly disturbed.

“What's up?” I asked the man, who was pale-white despite his brown complexion.

“I wanted to see whether something was up with the generators, because maybe that's why the lights were off.” He took my arm, gesturing for me to follow him to the hall besides the steps as he continued “So I went to the doors to that room, and had just remembered I didn't have a key, when I noticed they were already unlocked. Peeking inside, I thought I saw the weird hobo, so I swung the doors open and I saw, well, light.” We were at the doors.

“So the room to the electrical box has light,” Cassie, who had followed us, said. I turned my head, and noted that Kathleen hadn't budged. 

“Yes—no. I don't think you understand. “ said Sanjay. He swung open the doors to the room.

Instead of a dusty old room full of electrical equipment, there was light. I could barely see the ground due to the bright light nearly blinding me. I would have thought it was a sunny day, except that it felt far too cold to be the sun. I could hear wind rustling from farther away. Covering my eyes, I looked down and saw that the ground was filled with dirt and leaves. I took a step forward, and then yelped as something worm-like slithered over my foot. Except I had never seen worms that big before. 

“This doesn't look like New York,” said Cassie.


	5. Chapter 5

From outside the metal door, a creature, covered in brown fur, that looked like a giant rat peered in, then scurried off when it saw us standing there. Crisp air filled my nostrils, and I was distinctly reminded of the English countryside I had visited once or twice in my youth, and wind blew through the trees, making me regret how lightly I had dressed. . A shrill squawking filled my ears. I stuck my head through the door to see the source, but I couldn't find it through the thick leaves surrounding me. The soft grass crunched underneath the soles of my boots as I cautiously entered the forest that appeared to have sprung in the middle of a mall. Out the side of my eye, I saw animals peeking from the leaves, stealing glances at me.

I heard someone else take a step. I turned around to see Sanjay staring at the forest, looking extremely confused. He looked from the left, and then the right,and then just shook his head from disbelief. Cassie was too afraid to even step in.

“Cassie, please find the Doctor,” I said. This was a situation beyond any of us, but the Doctor might have an idea of what was happening. I looked over and saw her still standing there. Realizing that she might have no idea what I meant, I added “Blonde hair, cream colored suit, sounds like a weirdo half the time. Can't miss him.”

The woman seemed to snap out of her shock. To my surprise, she began to look angry, and she said “Watch your smart tongue. Don't tell me to find anyone.”. 

When I was younger, I would have snapped back at her. I just decided to keep my reply to myself and said “Fine then. Sanjay, please find the Doctor.” Sanjay hesitated, but then started walking out the door. Facing the forest again, I began walking straight ahead. 

“Wait, you're going in there!” said Cassie. 

“Yep,” I said. Without looking back, I added “Stay here if you like.”

To be honest, I was scared out of my wits. But I prided myself on throwing the middle finger at my fear and trudging ahead. It had gotten me this far. Vines hung lazily off the surrounding trees, and caught on my hair every no and then. Insects that were buzzing around me, and every now and then one would land on me. Their buzzing sounded weird for some reason, but I couldn't place it. 

As I kept on walking, the air started getting colder. Up ahead, I could see what lookd like a pond. The Raggedy Man always said water was a good place to look for people, so I walked a little faster. The vines continued to trip me up as I walked, slowing me down. The air was getting colder by the second, and I could actually see my breath faintly. Finally, I got to the water, and it looked less like a pond and more like an ocean. I could see an expanse of blue that look like it extended far. My sons would have loved to see this. 

A big fly landed on my left hand. I was about to swat it away, when I noticed something odd. 

It had two heads. And 5 pairs of legs. I had never seen a fly like this on Earth. 

The insect (?) flew off my hand, leaving me confused. Alright, Amy, calm down. 2-headed flies isn't even the worst thing you've seen in New York. I turned around, and realized my path seemed more cluttered than before. My gut told me something was wrong.

I walked forward cautiously, scanning my surroundings for anything amiss. I could hear my breathing, and realized that it had suddenly gotten quieter. No bugs buzzing, or birds (if they even were birds) chirping. I was reminded of those nature documentaries where everything got quiet while a lion was hunting a gazelle or something. 

I saw a flash of yellow in the edge of my right eye's vision. 

I instinctively jumped back. Quicker than I could see, something hit the spot where I was, and then drew back before I could see it. 

Yeah, I was definitely the gazelle.

I needed something to defend myself with. Keeping my eyes out, I reached for a branch lying on the ground. Picking it up, I almost fell to the ground. Either I needed to work out more, or it was heavier than it looked. Distracted by the sudden weight, I was shocked by a flash of yellow and what looked like something white and pointed. I blocked with the branch. Usually, when you hit something with a heavy object, you feel a thud (I've been in enough fights to know. Ask my therapists.). But it felt like I was hitting putty. The creature seemed to deform around the branch, and began to almost flow up the branch. Confused, I used my strength to throw the creature off the branch.

The creature landed on the forest floor, but softly. This was my first good look at the creature, except it wasn't easy to look at. I could see splotches of yellow and green on the creature, and a shape like a vine, but it was hard to see any detail. It seemed to be vibrating, undulating back and forth like a snake. 

“What the hell are you?” I asked. The creature was retreating, but I kept my guard up anyway.

Wait. It wasn't retreating. It was gathering itself, in order to attack.

I brought my branch up just in time to block the creature's assault on my face. I could see the teeth of its mouth baring down on me, but there was no breath from its mouth. Just a whole bunch of white chompers, a few inches from my face, being held up by a branch. And then I heard a snap, and the branch broke.

“Let her go!” said Cassie. I was never happier to see an old lady in my life. The old woman had an ax in her hand, and was chopping at the creature. Behind her was the Doctor. 

“Are you alright?” the Doctor asked me, while still looking at Cassie and the alien. The creature was dodging Cassie's blows.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said. I felt a little sore, actually. I sighed internally: I never got sore from adventure when I was younger. 

But no time to think about that right now. “Do you know what that thing is?” I asked the Doctor.

The creature was climbing up the tall trees now out of the range of Cassie. The Doctor stared at it with a concerned expression. 

“Doctor?” I said.

“What? Oh yes. I mean, the answer to your question is. ..” the Doctor hesitated. Then he continued “No,” said the Doctor. 

“No? As in 'you don't know'? Because today is not the day to start being manipulative and keeping secrets,” I said.

“I take offense to that,” the Doctor said sharply. Then he walked up to the creature, who was nestled in the tree. I could tell Cassie, who had never met the Doctor before, was a little worried for him. Me, I knew the Doctor was safe.

“What are you? I can see in your eyes that you possess an intelligence,” he said. The creature remained silent. “We come in peace,” the Doctor added.

The creature stared at the Doctor. Then it made a whine that froze my bones, and irrationally, reminded me of the smile of the hobo at the mall. I didn't know why. Finally, the creature slithered out of sight.

When the Doctor turned around, his face was pale. 

“Something is very wrong,” the Doctor said. 

“It's this whole place,” I agreed. “It feels wrong. Like the basic physics feel weird”

“You may be more right than you know” the Doctor said. He looked at Cassie. “Are you okay? Thanks for saving Amy.”

“Your welcome,” Cassie said. She was clearly overwhelmed. Reminded me of my first adventure with the Doctor. “So, where is this place?”

“Not New York,” said Sanjay. He had just walked through the door.

“I thought I told you to stay with Simon,” said the Doctor with an irritated expression. He groaned. “People never do what I say. Anyway, how is he?”

“I'm just fine.”

In front of us was a perfectly healed, nice looking Simon. He smiled at us, and looked around. 

“Looks like the local scenery changed,” Simon said.


	6. Chapter 5

Just a few minutes ago, this man had been in utter agony. I was half-afraid that he was about to die, and if he survived, that he would at least have some serious scars for the rest of his life. But now Simon was standing in front of me, completely healed. I looked him up and down, but there were no signs that he had ever had a problem. If anything, he looked even better than before.

He looked at our shocked expressions, and said “A picture would last longer. ”

“We apologize for our rude staring. It's just that your recovery is rather miraculous,” said the Doctor. His tone was level, but I could tell he was as surprised as the rest of us were.

“Maybe I'm just a lucky guy,” said Simon. He was way too calm for what had happened to him. The guy had been afraid to the point of panic earlier, and now he was cool? Something didn't make sense.

“So, how did you get better? Did you take a couple aspirin, or what?” I asked him. I searched his face for some clue of what was going on.

He looked away from the blueish-red sky, and flashed me an irritated look. “Listen, lady, I just went through a traumatic experience. Could you give me a break?” Whatever had healed him hadn't stopped him from being a jerk, apparently.

“Sorry, Simon. Amy's kinda confrontational sometimes” said Sanjay, shooting me a glare, and then he explained “ I was freaking out while waiting for you guys, and then suddenly his skin began to heal itself. Within a few minutes, he was perfectly healthy!” 

The Doctor was frowning and looked like he was about to say something else, when Cassie said “At least that sorted itself out. So, now will someone tell me what this place is? Because this isn't New York. And Amy got attacked by some weird snake creature. So either I'm in a really bad dream, or...” Cassie paused, seemingly at a loss for words. I couldn't blame her.

“Or this mall has been transported to another dimension. Amy, did you find any similarities between the people here?” asked the Doctor.

I shook my head at him. “Kind of was sidetracked by finding another dimension next door.”

“Not the worst excuse I've heard in my lifetimes,” said the Doctor while examining a tree. It was purple, and its branches twisted around in spirals. He continued “This clearly isn't anywhere on Earth. Actually, I don't recognize this place at all, which is odd, considering I've been at a lot of places--”

“Wait. Not on Earth?” sputtered Sanjay. 

I noticed Simon walking back to the mall. I walked to his side. “Simon, I'm sorry for going at you like that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “It's not that I don't realize how screwed-up my condition was. But it's like I can't really remember it.” 

“Your mind probably has blocked it out. Mental self-defense mechanisms, or whatever,” I said. “My husband's a nurse. He explained to me once that some patients can't even remember certain painful trauma that well.”

“You have a husband? And here I thought I had a chance,” said Simon, grinning devilishly at me. 

I rolled my eyes, and was about to say something witty at him. But then he spoke again, in a more somber tone “It's like my mind won't let me think about it. Whenever I try to remember or focus on the incident, it's like a, well this is gonna sound batty, but like a voice is telling me to ignore it. I can't even think about it, even now....” His eyes seemed unfocused, but I could tell he was straining to remember.

“Don't stress yourself too bad,” I said. “It'll come gradually.” Simon relaxed, though he was still frowning.

I remembered something else the Doctor had wondered about. “What are Vicodis plants? Sanjay said you mentioned them.”

Simon's body immediately tensed again, and he said “I've got to go sit down and relax. See you later.”

“Wait, Simon,” I said. “You shouldn't be alone right now.”

Through gritted teeth, he said “I can take care of myself, doll. Now, I need to sit down.” He covered his ears with his hands, like he was blocking out a noise, and stomped off.

Something was seriously troubling Simon. Maybe it was just stress, but I had a feeling that something worse was up with Simon. I walked back into the forest to find the Doctor and tell him.

I found him inside, still arguing with Sanjay. I had forgotten that this could be my neighbor's first contact with extraterrestrial events. He wasn't taking it that well. “Everything you've said so far makes no sense. This has to be Earth—maybe it's like, a special parade, or maybe it's like a government experiment,” said Sanjay, hopelessly clutching at his sanity.

“Certainly not. Look at the local animals and plants that exist here. Two headed flies and blood-red stems! Look at the sky. It looks like a colorful sunset, but there's no sun in the sky. This is nowhere like Earth, and nowhere like NYC certainly. Which means this mall has clearly been transported to another dimension,” said the Doctor seriously. He looked at me for understanding.

“That makes no sense at all!” complained Sanjay. “Other planets or dimensions don't exist...Oh god, we've got a crazy person with us!” he wailed.

The Doctor scratched his blonde hair, and sighed “I forget how primitive you 20st Century Earthlings can be.” He was right, but he also wasn't making himself look like any less of a crazy person to my neighbor. 

I decided to break this up. “San!” I said, waving my hand in front of his face. “This Doctor guy...I, err...know him. “ It was technically the truth. “He usually knows how to make things go right.” Except in Manhattan, said a little voice in my head, but I pushed it away. “I understand that this whole experience is sort of weird, but it'll won't get any better if you freak out on us.” I looked around for Cassie to back me up, but she was near the water, poking at it with a stick.

“You're taking the crazy guy's side?” Sanjay said. “And you never mentioned him to me before.” He was right—I didn't tell people about my life with the Doctor. I was busy trying to think of some convincing lie, when the Doctor stepped in.

“Well, it's been a long time. I can't remember when we first met, but she's definitely a friend of mine,” the Doctor said quickly. He put his hand on my shoulder, and gave Sanjay a reassuring grin.

Sanjay just shook his head. “Whatever. I'm just going to go back to the mall, maybe see if I can find a phone. This place gives me the creeps,” he said, walking to the door that lead back to the mall. He stopped for a moment at the door, looked back at the alien forest, and then shuddered. Shaking his head again, he kept on walking.

I saw Cassie walking back to us from the water. I began to trudge through the thick grass to her, and heard the Doctor trailing behind me. I looked back, and stole a closer glance at him. He looked about the age of my Doctor, if not younger. He didn't have a bowtie, unfortunately, but the long yellow coat was a pretty good look on him. His blonde hair actually looked better than the black mop of my Doctor's, more well-maintained. In fact, that seemed to be the main difference between this Doctor and the other one—this one seemed smoother, more full of social graces. In fact, he felt a little boring—none of the silly minor screw-ups and awkward faux-pas of my Doctor. Had I met this one back when I was little, I would have kicked him out for being too starchy!

“Amy, is there something you're hiding from me?” said the Doctor, interrupting my thoughts. 

I turned around and looked him in his searching eyes. I put my hand to my chin in mock-thought, and said “Why would you say that?” 

“Some of the things you say seem a little odd,” said the Doctor. Looking straight into my eyes, he said “I don't mean to pry. It's just that any information you have could be useful to figuring this situation out.”

I nearly explained everything right then and there, but my Doctor's constant speeches about “PARADOXES ARE A NO-NO! BLINOVITCH DIED FOR YOUR SINS!” rang in my conscience. “Nothing I'm hiding from you. No secrets. Are you hiding something from me?,” I said, hoping I was a convincing liar.

The Doctor laughed, and said “Would you believe me if I said I was an alien?”

“I've heard weirder,” I said, shrugging. “I mean, normally I wouldn't believe in other dimensions. But this clearly isn't New York, so I dunno what to believe.” 

“And the water's all wrong,” interrupted Cassie, who was by my side now. “It feels like mud in my hands. I've never seen anything like it before.”

“Did you drink it?” I asked.

She looked at me like I was stupid. “Hell no.” 

“Very smart,” said the Doctor, approvingly. “The chemical and physical qualities of this world is very wrong. And it's even worse than that. You see those trees over there?” 

“Yeah. They look weird, like someone took a normal tree and twisted it up. They hurt my eyes to look at,” said Cassie.

“That's because the trees are twisting into dimensions your eyes can't quite perceive. Were you to look at this tree while walking around it, it would seem to have edges that don't quite meet up,” said the Doctor.

“How do you know so much about all this stuff?” asked Cassie suspiciously.

“Let's just say I'm a specialist in odd phenomenon,” said the Doctor, walking suddenly back to the mall door. “Speaking off odd phenomenon, I analyzed Simon's cells. His body seemed to be having an extreme allergic reaction.” 

“I usually just get the sniffles when I have an allergy. But I talked to Simon...he seemed very confused,” I said.

“Well, you could say Simon's entire body was having the sniffles,” said the Doctor. He was walking swiftly to the door now, causing me to have to run to keep up. I heard Cassie mutter something about “young people” behind me. “His autoimmune system was battling fiercely against some invading chemical. And losing.” 

“But he seems okay now!” called Cassie behind us.

The Doctor turned around, looking at both Cassie and me with a skeptical glance. “Is he? He seemed oddly uninterested in his own recovery.” Turning back around, he walked through the door leading to the mall. 

I felt a tug on my arm. I turned around and saw Cassie.

“I don't trust that guy,” said Cassie. “He knows too much, and he's hiding a lot. Maybe he's got something to do with this.”

I shook my head. “I know this guy. We can trust him.” Cassie still looked nervous, but said nothing.

I walked through the door to the mall, and immediately felt relief. It was like I was back in a place that made sense. Well, as much sense as a mall in the middle of an alien dimension can make.

The Doctor was standing still, looking at the floor with his back to me.

“What's going on?” I asked, sensing something wasn't right. I ran to his side, and gasped at what I saw.

Sanjay was knocked out on the floor. On his head was a a gash, and it was covered with some sort of blue substance.

“Oh god, look at his skin!” cried Cassie.

It had the same sickened, burning look Simon's skin had before he got better.

“Who the hell did this?!” I shouted. I bent down to take a better look at him, but the Doctor blocked me.

“It's best not to touch him,” said the Doctor. “I've already checked his pulse—he's alive.”

“Is he okay?” I asked, for the second time today.

“I'm..not sure,” said the Doctor. He looked back at the forest we had just left, as if he was willing it to give him answers.

From my crouched vantage point, I saw legs walking up to us from the stairs. I recognized Simon's shoes. “Simon, help Sanjay up, someone seems to have attacked Sanjay. We need to find out who--”

The Doctor yanked me back suddenly. I fell, and could see Cassie's shocked face. I tried to see what she was looking at. 

It was Simon, holding a bloody knife that would have cut me ,had the Doctor not moved in time. Mixed with the blood on the knife was the same blue substance I saw on Sanjay's bloody forehead. 

“We need to move, now!” said the Doctor. But I was busy looking into Simon's eyes. Something about their coloration looked wrong, looked too green. Then I realized that they were covered with the same green gunk I had seen on the hobo.


	7. Infection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get hectic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. As usual, please read and review!

Simon's knife sliced the air where I just had been. His black boots were resounding off the floor, drowning out the screams that sounded like it was from Cassie. His eyes looked crazed like even though he was looking at me, he was lost in his own world. He sliced again at the air, aiming at my head. I swerved to the side, and he missed me, managing to cut my hair. Now his faces was inches from mine, and I could smell the gunk on his face. Oddly, it smelled sweet. I used our close quarters to land a blow on his jaw, and then kicked him in the stomach. He bent over, wheezing.

 

“Let's get out of here before he recovers,” said the Doctor. His eyes were still studying Simon. I had seen the same look in my own Doctor, whenever there was a puzzle to be solved.

 

Cassie was hoisting Sanjay's body up on the floor.

 

“Do you need some help?,” I said. Carrying him would take time we didn't have.

 

“I'm fine. But not leaving him here with that maniac,” said Cassie. The Doctor grabbed Sanjay's other side, and we walked as fast as he could to the main floor where Katherine was.

 

Behind us, I could hear Simon getting up. I didn't know what was going on, but I alredy knew we were probaby dealing with something alien. Simon had been acting weird all day. Perhaps whatever weirdness that had brought us here had affected him.

 

When Katherine saw us, her eyes widened at Sanjay's condition. “Is he okay? Did Simon kill him?”

 

“No, he's still alive, thankfully,” I said. “Though if we don't get out of here, Simon will catch up to us.”

 

“Thank goodness you're safe! ” said Katherine,. Something about her cheer was odd.

 

The Doctor look concerned about something. Cocking his head, he said “How did you know Simon attacked Sanjay?”

 

Katherine opened her mouth, and then paused. Her smile quickly turned into a frown. “Because I saw him.” Her hands begin fiddling with the side of her dress.

 

“Really? You saw it? From your vantage point, a whole floor down? You've got very good eyesight. Much better than mine, even.” Despite his smile, the Doctor was clearly skeptical.

 

“Or I heard it. Whatever. I got scared, so I found the best place to hide and kept silent,” snapped Katherine.

 

Cassie shook her head. “You should be ashamed of yourself.” Katherine glared at her

 

Katherine was clearly concealing something, but we didn't have time to figure that out. I could hear Simon's footsteps getting louder.

 

“Whatever your hiding spot was here, could you take us to it? Because Simon is about to come over,” said Cassie.

 

Katherine motioned us to come with her. I started walking, when I caught movement from the side of my eye. Sanjay was waking up. He was murmuring and coughing up, and I couldn't see his face. He was whispering something into Cassie's ear. Her eyes widened, and she threw Sanjay to the ground.

 

“You freak,” said Cassie to Sanjay, who was still in a half-daze.

 

“What's wrong?” said the Doctor. “Whatever it is, we don't have time to deal with it.” Then a whizzing sound went through the air, and the Doctor grabbed his arm. There was a slice in his white coat, though thankfully his arm didn't seem hurt. It had been a knife.

 

“It appears Simon has a very good throwing arm,” said the Doctor dryly. Simon was in front of us, knives in his hands. The Doctor said to us “Get out of here. I'll hold Simon off.” Before we could object, the Doctor was standing in front of Simon. I could only see his back.

 

I told the rest of them to get out of here. “I'm gonna stay with the Doctor.”

 

“He said we should go,” Cassie objected.

 

“I know what he said. And I'm encouraging you to follow it. But I'm not leaving him,” I replied.

 

Katherine shrugged, and took Sanjay's arm. Cassie gave me a concerned look, but eventually followed. I noticed she didn't touch Sanjay again.

 

Hiding a few feet from Simon and the Doctor, who were on the second floor, I crouched behind a group of clothing racks.

 

The Doctor was pleasantly chatting up the man who was trying to cut him open. “Hello. You seem to have a grievance against us. Care to explain why?”

 

“Not really,” said Simon with a shrug, who threw another knife at the Doctor. The Doctor dodged that one as well, and jumped behind a desk chair in the middle of the floor.

 

“Whatever possessed you hasn't taken away your sense of wit,” said the Doctor. “Why didn't you kill Sanjay, when you had a chance?” He noticed me hiding, and grimaced, but didn't give me away.

 

“He's going to join the Cabal.” said Simon, smiling so wide I could see his green-stained gums. His eyes no longer look dazed. But I could see their gaze moving rapidly, from one place to another. It was like his brain was speeding, and his eyes could barely keep up with it.

 

“Oh! A special club. Can I join? Do they play cricket?” said the Doctor. Simon ran to where the Doctor was hiding, and the Doctor esaped at the last minute to the third floor. I nearly got up, but I could see the Doctor shaking his head at me.

 

Simon paused his chase of the Doctor. He looked around, and sniffed the air. “Someone else is here.”

 

“It's probably just your nose playing tricks,” said the Doctor, trying to distract Simon. “So, is that what your attack was? An initiation into the exclusive group? A rather exotic way of getting new members, I would think. Did Sanjay know he was signing up?”

 

“Everyone knows when they sign up. It has to be consensual. Those are the rules,” said Simon. He kept on sniffing the air. And he was walking closer to my location. I hid under the bushes.

 

“Was it consensual for you?” said the Doctor.

 

Simon paused at that, and for a slight moment, his face contorted in pain. He made a groaning noise, and looked like he was in pain. Then his face cleared, and he looked right at me.

 

“Found you,” he said.

 

His hand pulled up, and I threw myself backwards in reflex, landing on the floor. My back cried out with a vengeance, and I got up—and immediately slumped back down, as a knife whizzed past my face. Crawling on the floor, I grabbed a leftover umbrella on the floor, and , launched at Simon, aiming for his chest. He was taken by surprise, and dropped his knives by accident. (My experience crossing swords with pirates all those years ago finally became useful again.) This time I wasn't taking any chances, and I continued to strike him while he was done.

 

“Amy, don't kill him,” the Doctor called from above.

 

I called back “I'll try not to, but he's trying really hard to kill me.” Simon jumped back, and I hit his leg, pinning him to the floor with my shoes.

 

“I don't think he wants to kill you, Amy. I think he's trying to infect you,” said the Doctor.

 

Infect me? What? I turned to ask Simon what the Doctor meant, when he bit my leg.

 

I cried out involuntarily, and fell over. In an instant, Simon was in front of my face, and he opened his mouth. I could see his green stained teeth, and then something too...wormy to be a tongue.

 

He was about to bite my face, but I heard a crash, and he let me go. I saw black shards on the floor, and looked up. Above, the Doctor had a bunch of vinyl discs in his hand.

 

“You see, Simon, you may be good at throwing. But I'm a winner of javelin competitions on at least five planets,” said the Doctor. “Now, Amy, perhaps you'd like to come up?”

 

I ran upstairs. “You have a plan to get us out of here?”

 

“Of course. Just haven't thought of it yet,” said the Doctor. “Now, Simon, I'm guessing that your Cabal is transmitted through infection?”

 

Simon looked at me, and said “Now she's going to become one of us. It's inevitable.”

 

“I thought you said it was consensual.” said the Doctor.

 

“It is. But everyone makes the choice to join eventually, and sometimes we expedite the process,” said Simon. He walked towards us, but the Doctor threw another vinyl javelin at him. Simon huffed, and said “You all should stop resisting. Joining the Cabal is why we were brought here. You were chosen as proper vessels. It's an honor.”

 

My bite wound was beginning to sting. I looked down, and was shocked to see it was already healing. That wasn't good.

 

“It doesn't really feel like an honor,” I said.

 

“You said we were brought here. Interesting. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about the dimension next door, hmm?” said the Doctor.

 

Simon opened his mouth, but then stopped and turned around. He seemed to be seeing something we weren't. He looked back at us and smirked

 

A scream rang out. It sounded like Cassie.

 

The Doctor and me looked at each other in horror, with the same thought in our heads.

 

“Sanjay's infected like Simon. And he's alone with the rest of the group,” I said.

 

My wound began to sting again.

 


	8. Interlude 2

Ciara's Super Awesome Journal:

 

Things have gotten bad.

 

Don't know where the hobo is. He keeps on moving around.

 

I think he looks at me every now and again.

 

Kathleen met the man with the suit. She's talking to him calmly, pointing at the Indian in the lobby. The man's nodding. He's fully converted now. It doesn't seem like this team will survive too much longer.

 

I was rooting for them! ):

 

Oh no. The Indian is approaching the converted man. This isn't good...

 

I have to stop them. I'll call out to them. Brb, journal.

 

Darn. (I'm not supposed to use bad words, but I don't care.)

 

Well, I tried to stop the converted dude (his name is Simon by the way), but Kathleen heard me when I called out. She was pretty angry at me, and told me she was doing all this for me, and then dragged me to a room in the bottom floor.

 

Now I'm alone here. I hear people talking outside, but I don't know what's going on. The door is locked.

 

I'm gonna stop writing here. Until later, journal.

 

PS: I'm back! Kathleen threw in some other people. They seemed surprised to see me, and they seem pretty cool. Cassie is an old lady, and at first I thought she was mean. But she's actually pretty nice (she said I looked cute.)

 

But Sanjay...something's wrong with him. He looks ill. And he's standing up now. He's looking at both Cassie and me kinda weird. Like he's hungry.

 

I've never seen a converted up close. But I'm terrified.

 

Cassie and me are backed into a corner. He's getting closer.

 

Journal, I might have to end this earl


	9. Chapter 8

So far, I, along with some others and an earlier incarnation of the Doctor, had been trapped inside a mall, had found out I was in an alien dimension, and hunted down by people who were being possessed by some sort of alien intelligence. Oh, and I had been bitten by one of the infected, and now Cassie was alone with an infected person who used to be my neighbor, while the Doctor and I had an infected Simon in the way of us helping Cassie. 

My wound throbbed with an increasing sting. It felt like a bee sting, except several times as painful. It made it harder to think, and I gnashed my teeth as I heard Cassie scream from behind that locked door. I immediately prepared to run down, but the Doctor held me back. 

"They're in danger," I said to him. His eyes turned to mine, and flared back with equal intensity. I could tell he was as worried as I was, but he shook his head.

Instead, he called down to Simon "So, why us? Were we just randomly chosen, or did we do anything special to deserve this reward?"

I could hear struggle behind that door. I strained my ears to hear what was going on, but it was too chaotic. The Doctor ignored the sounds, and continued smiling pleasantly at Simon.

"All of you have been touched by fate in the same way, just enough to set you apart. You are proper hosts for the Cabal, who cannot have normal people among them," said Simon. He scratched his neck, and I noticed his hands were twitching rapidly. 

This man was speaking in riddles, and it was starting to piss me off. I had no idea what any of it meant.

"I don't care about your Cabal, or whatever your gang is. I just want to go home. Why does your Cabal need extra members, anyway?" I asked.

"Because we need to get back what belongs to us," said Simon.

"Ah, property retrieval. You know, this Cabal doesn't sound too bad. When can I sign up?" asked the Doctor. He shot me a look back, indicating for me to be ready for something. 

Hilariously, Simon seemed surprised that someone was actually agreeing to be converted. He blinked, and then beckoned the Doctor over.

The Doctor calmly walked down the steps, his hands behind his back. I hoped he had a good plan.

"And Amy, gather the rest of the group for conversion. I do think that this Cabal won't give us too much trouble if we all consent calmly," said the Doctor.

"Of course, Doctor. I suppose that'll work out for the best," I said. I quickly ran past Simon, 'accidentally' tripping him as I walked. I ran to the door, not looking back. My leg continued to hurt, and I sneaked a peek at it. My wound had healed, and now I saw the same black discoloration Simon's body had sported before his possession. How soon would that blackness cover my skin?

How soon would I get possessed?

"Stop!" said Simon. He could tell we were going along too easily with this.

And then, I heard a thwack. I looked back, scared that the Doctor had been infected. Instead, I saw Simon on the floor, while the Doctor stood over him with a syringe.

"Thank goodness that actually worked. Well, let's get going!" he said, reaching to open the door that held Cassie and the assumedly infected Sanjay.

The Doctor opened the door. Cassie was attacking Kathleen, with a little girl behind them. I recognized the girl—I had seen her earlier, on the steps.I saw Sanjay on the floor, a chair above him. Looking into his eyes, I saw the crazed look of the possessed.

"Kathleen's with the possessed people! She tried to get us infected!" said Cassie. Kathleen was crouched on the floor, and looked from the Doctor and me, to Cassie. Then she shrugged, and smoothed her dress down.

"It doesn't matter. It's too late for all of you," said Kathleen. Her posture communicated boredom.

"Who are you? You didn't come with the rest of us, did you?" said the Doctor. He didn't look surprised, just tired.

"What gave me away?" said Kathleen.

"Well, your accent for one. Certainly not New York. Plus, the coloration of your hair. The roots were a little too pink. And, finally, I just know an alien species with 2 hearts when I see one. Call it 'like knowing like'," said the Doctor.

"She's an alien? Why would anyone alien be here?" said Cassie.

"Good question. Care to answer?" said the Doctor. 

Kathleen eyed the group closely. I noticed her eyes stopped on the girl's, and I immediately guessed they were close. The girl looked scared, and kept on looking at Sanjay. Sanjay was barely moving, but his eyes still looked alert. His eyes turned to my direction, and his index finger pointed at my leg. Somehow, he must have sensed my infection. I ignored him, and looked back at Kathleen.

Kathleen hadn't answered the Doctor, just stared at the floor. 

"Well?" said the Doctor. His voice had an edge. I had seen the expression on the bowtied Doctor, when he was holding in his anger. 

The girl spoke up, and said "It's the deal. The Cabal takes each group, and uses them as hosts. In return, they let us live."

“Ciara!” shouted Kathleen. Ciara looked uncertain at first, then shook her head.

“These people are going to die anyway. They deserve to know why. We've never explained to any of the groups why. What's the harm?” said Ciara. As I got closer to her, I noticed that her irises were purple, and her feet, covered with sandals, were webbed. I guessed those were the traits of the aliens from her planet.

“Listen, if the Cabal thinks we've messed up, they might not take kindly to us. So just shut the hell up. You're too young to understand,” said Kathleen. Her voice began to acquire a buzzing sound as she shouted, like she was losing control of her pretense to be a human. 

Ciara shook her head. She looked at the Doctor and me, and then looked down at my leg. Upon seeing my infection, her eyes went wide. She looked at me, and gave me a sad smile, the way you looked at a terminal cancer patient. A chill ran down my spine.

And the chill stayed. My body began to shiver, like I was cold all around. Darkness clouded my vision, like a large shadow was crawling over my skin. Looking down, I could see that my ankle was covered now. But in my body, I could feel a chill moving from my leg, to all over my body. I wrapped myself in my jacket tighter, and tried to block it out.

“Amy, were you infected?” said Cassie. Her eyes peered into mine, and she held her cane out in front of her defensively. 

“Yeah, I was bit,” I said. A rotten taste crawled up my mouth, and nausea nearly made me throw up for a moment. 

“Get out,” said Cassie, softly. She seemed almost sorry, but it was clear that she wasn't going to back down. 

“Wait!” said the Doctor. He took another syringe out of his pocket. It was filled with a blue liquid. As soon as I saw it, a pain erupted in my stomach. I doubled over, wincing.

“What is that?” asked Ciara. 

“It's an antidote. I scrounged up something after examining Simon's cells. Only made two doses, and I wasted one on Simon earlier,” said the Doctor.

“Why is she in pain?” said Cassie, pointing at me. 

“I think the infection can sense it's a cure. Amy, please stay calm. Just let me inject you, and you'll feel better,” said the Doctor.

“Cure Sanjay,” I said. The Doctor looked surprised.

“Amy, I think--” started the Doctor.

“Cure Sanjay. This infection only gets you if you consent, right? So, cure Sanjay, then make some antivenom from my infected blood, then cure me. I'm not gonna consent to some alien virus. Come on, let's get this over with,” I said. My mouth felt dry, and my leg felt numb.

The Doctor nodded. He walked over to Sanjay, syringe in hand. Sanjay looked at the Doctor, his mouth emitting a low growl as the Doctor drew near. The Doctor wasn't even paying Sanjay any attention, just calming grabbing Sanjay's arm, and mutterring something. Probably an apology. Jeez, this man was polite to a fault. Out the side of my eye, I saw Kathleen start to move. I gave her a classic Pond glare, and Kathleen sat back down. Smart woman.

“I can see the virus moving through you. How's your leg?” asked Kathleen. 

“Shut it!” said Cassie. She reached into her pocket, and retrieved a gun, pointing it at Kathleen.

“Put that down, now,” said the Doctor. I don't even think he looked back.

“She threatened me with this gun!” said Cassie. 

“Put it down, Cassie. The Doctor doesn't really approve of guns,” I said. Some things about him never changed.

Sanjay screamed. It was an ear-splitting sound, that resonated through my core. My numb leg suddenly reagined feeling, with a white-hot feeling of pain that ripped through me, and was gone just as quickly. 

“I think it worked,” said the Doctor. His face looked almost disgusted, and he wiped his hands off. Sanjay's eyes were closed now, and he was resting. The pain must have been me sensing the antidote working. The fact that the infection had already started affecting me psychically worried me. Just what type of virus was this? 

Cassie eyed Sanjay. She seemed to calm down, as Sanjay already was looking better, as color returned to his cheeks. She placed the gun back into her jacket, and exhaled.

“Fu—friggin hell,” said Cassie, looking at Ciara. We all knew how she felt. The whole day had been weird. Even despite my infection, I felt tired. 

“So,” said the Doctor, looking at Kathleen, “now you can tell us about what's going on here, while I study Amy's infection.”

I checked my skin. The blackness had crawled up my chest.

“Doc, thank you for curing Sanjay. Now, let's get me cured now. My infection's getting serious,” I said.

The Doctor said “Thank you for being patient, but please don't call me 'Doc' again.”

I stuck my tongue out at him. “I'll call you whatever I want.”

I noticed Ciara staring out the door. She looked scared to death of somethig.

“What's wrong, Ciara?” I asked. I followed her gaze, to see a dirty man standing outside the door. He was the same dirty hobo I had seen earlier. He had a contemplative expression on his face, and rubbed his beard.

“Well. This is interesting. You've actually managed to make a cure. That calls for a change of tactics,” said Merkithe.

Merkithe. I had never asked him, but I instinctively knew that was his real name. It felt right. 

“Doctor, I think he's with the Cabal,” I said.

Merkithe's eyes went wide, and he clapped his hands together. His face stretched into a smile that was too wide.

“Doctor? As in the Time Lord? I'm actually honored to meet you,” said Merkithe, moving faster than I could see, and shaking the Doctor's hand. His demeanor was cheerful, if creepy.

“Uh, thanks. My friends and I wish to leave,” said the Doctor. 

“Oh, I understand. Unfortunately...” started Merkithe, then he rushed at Cassie and bit her on the neck. Cassie fell back, shocked. The Doctor ran at Merkithe, who snapped his fingers.

I saw the Doctor suddenly fall forwards. Before I could respond, I saw my own feet lift off the ground. My body felt weightless, and I realized the gravity had been turned off.

“Manipulation of physical properties? How are you doing that? Block transfer manipulation?” said the Doctor conversationally. Cassie was floating in the air, holding her neck wound.

Merkithe ignored him, looking at Kathleen.

“Tsk, tsk. You were supposed to contain this situation. What happenned?” said Merkithe.

“That Doctor screwed things up. I can fix it,” said Kathleen. Her face looked scared.

“Sure you can,” said Merkithe. He looked at Ciara, and I saw Kathleen stiffen.

“Don't you dare touch that girl,” I snarled. It was surprisingly hard to speak.

Merkithe turned to me. Then he ran up to me, his face a few inches from mine.

He didn't say a word, just stared at me. His yellow eyes looked over me, as if he was looking at the infection within me. I stared back at him, ignoring the intensified chill spreading through me, making my body shiver.

“Interesting. You're not scared of me at all,” said Merkithe. His breath smelled sweet.

“I saw scarier things in my childhood bedroom,” I said.

“You know, technically it's all of you who are the villains here. Not the Cabal. Anyway...” said Merkithe.

He snapped his fingers again. He grabbed Ciara, and calmly walked out the door, as the walls began to melt. I cursed my own luck, and tried to follow them. But the air suddenly felt thicker, and I could barely move. I wasn't sure whether that was something he caused, or an effect of my infection. The blackness was covering my arms now, and I knew it wouldn't be long till I was fully out of commission. The walls dissipated away, leaving a view of not the rest of the mall, but a sandy beach. The sand was green colored, and the sky was a purplish-blue. It was the same weird dimension I had seen esrlier.

I hit the ground. Apparently, the gravity was back on. 

“What's going on?” said a voice behind me. It was Sanjay, who looked a little dazed, but was fine besides. The cure had worked. 

“It's a long story,” said the Doctor.

“We need to get back to the mall,” screamed Kathleen. Her eyes were wet, and her face looked desperate.

“It's okay. We'll find her. But now you need to tell us everything you know,” said the Doctor.

“Why would you help me? I set all of you up,” asked Kathleen.

“Well, we can't all be perfect. And I can't let that girl be harmed. But now I need to know all the facts,” said the Doctor.

I opened my mouth to speak, but ended up coughing. Blood dripped from my black lips.

“Amy!” said Sanjay. I saw him above me. Or at least his silhouette—my vision wasn't doing too good. 

“Sanjay! I need you to step away from her—yes, come here. And Amy?” said the Doctor.

“What?” I croaked.

“Don't give in.”

He said some other things, but I was too tired. My eyes drooped close, and the blackness covered me.

My eyes flew open. I wasn't in that weird dimension anymore. I was in a room. My old room, back when I first met the bowtied Doctor. 

The sun was peeking through the windows. No crack in the wall, which was a relief. Something about me felt off, but I couldn't place it. Touching my face, I noted it felt smoother than I remembered. 

Then I realized that I was younger. Probably around 20 years old or so, judging from the clothes (I would only have worn the red shirt I was wearing now when I was 20.) A quick look at a mirror confirmed it.

Breathing in the air, I relished the feeling. Then I remembered about the mall, and Cassie, and the celery Doctor, and my heart started beating faster. Where was I? Was I possessed?

“If you're wondering whether or not you're one of the Cabal, not yet. But you will be soon, if you're not careful,” said a voice behind me. I saw a redheaded girl, with chubby cheeks and a frown on her face. She wore a red jaket, with a shirt that had red leaves covering it. It's what I would have dressed myself in, when I was young.

“Our time's already running out. Comw on,” said the girl who looked just a young version of me.

Her voice was annoying. And very familiar.

“Wait, you're me! How is that possible? And why am I young again?” I said.

The girl rolled her eyes at me. She walked past me, looking at the sunny sky outside. Part of the sky, in the distance, looked almost purple.

“Answer me,” I said.

The young version of me looked back, and said “Then listen carefully. This is where it gets complicated.”


End file.
